Monday 28 July 2008

Moto Morni 1200 Corsaro Veloce

2008 Moto Morini 1200 Corsaro Veloce



Predatory and purposeful in its look and build the new Moto Morini 1200 Corsaro veloce (in effect the SP version of the existing Corsaro) is a street fighter to be reckoned with. Equipped with all the attributes and necessary equipment to make it a bike you don’t really want to get off.


The newly revived, now wholly family owned factory at Marabese in Italy (which after investment returned into the original family ownership from the Cagiva group in 1999), has drawn on its heritage and produced a thoroughly modern V- twin motorcycle that is such a grin to ride it’s almost painful.

The Corsaro is the 5th new Model in the small but perfectly formed factory line up that once again started production three years ago.

A quick straw poll of bikers I came into contact with over the ‘Corsaro weekend’ either hadn’t heard of Moto Morini at all or only remembered the seemingly legendary 3-Half sport and that was the extent of their knowledge. A case of out of sight out of mind.
Unlike Triumph for instance that is enjoying a remarkable renaissance, Moto Morini only ever made its mark in the minds of the few and though still lovingly remembered by the cognoscenti, their numbers are dwindling and the modern motorcycle audience has grown up without the brand presence over the last 20 years.

It didn’t stop all and sundry admiring the revival though, in fact whilst at a rather large auto jumble that weekend it drew a sizeable audience, attracted no doubt by the purposeful profile but probably more by the exhaust note produced by the under seat mufflers.
3X motorcycles who had supplied the bike thoughtfully equipped their demonstrator with un-baffled Termignoni’s and the accompanying dedicated ECU produced a ‘well proper’ motorcycle noise. This played a large part in my affection for the machine over the weekend, popping and blarting sound across the Romney Marsh area of the Kent countryside.
It wasn’t intrusive (to me anyway), and it really enhanced the delivery from the 1200cc V-twin motor.

The standard items on the standard Corsaro are fat organ pipes of quiet harmony conforming to the usual Euro nonsense and aesthetically in the eye of this beholder detracted from the overall profile.

The Veloce at £9,900 new would have to be worth digging a little deeper into the bank manager’s pocket to gain these performance pipes, not to mention a fine Ohlins rear suspension unit, which replaces the standard Sachs unit, slipper clutch, and Brembo equipment.
If I was looking for a street fighter with bags of character I could easily be cajoled into purchasing this black devil of a motorcycle.



The motor is not just an 1187cc 87 degree V-twin motor it is a Franco Lambertini designed Bialberto Corsacorta motor - Oh Yes!
The POS shamelessly tells us that since Franco left Ferrari in 1970, all the Morini engines are his by design. Well Franco, you are to be congratulated.

The motor is smooth, not at all lumpy in its power delivery, I couldn’t find much vibration to speak of, the power rolled in a steady and increasingly steep wave of pure fun with no glitches in the fuelling, (apparently a common gripe on earlier models).
Peak power is reached at 9,000 revs by which time the chassis suspension and tyres have to cope with 140hp of absolute wanton and hedonistic drive.

What else marks this bike as special? Well, the frame is a steel trellis, hard to find as a production preference outside of Italy, it’s almost a mechanized two wheel national signature piece, the nation as a whole must have the worldwide patents for this design style.
Using the motor as a stressed member and allied to the one piece cast aluminum no frills swing arm the mean black chassis delivers razor sharp handling with a wheelbase and rake that allows pin point aim and sure footedness.

The front forks are Marzocchi units, black, gripped by a muscular triple clamp bottom yoke, fully adjustable for rebound compression and spring rate at 50mm diameter.
I personally think suspension is a bit of a black art, so fiddling with factory settings at one end usually affects the ride at the other, unless you are a guru in this department my view it to leave well alone and rate the factory settings. The factory set up is bloody good, firm but pliant at speed, I had no desire to feck about and fiddle with either the front, or rear Ohlins suspension. It delivered most excellent performance right out of the crate - Its amazing how did they know my weight and the way I was going to ride it?

Naturally the faster you go, the quicker you need to stop.
I have to say I didn’t really test the brakes to a maximum, the engine braking and slipper clutch took care of most of the deceleration, In fact riding pal and fellow UKBike member ‘The Coghurst Boy’ remarked on the lack of illumination from the sculpted rear lens, querying an intermittent fault.
Following on his beautiful KTM Supermotard it was noticeable how little I used the brakes apparently.
We swapped bikes in order to gain a comparison, when we stopped roughly twenty miles down the route, he knew why.
His KTM felt soft and almost sports toury compared with the taut and sharp ride of the Morini.
If called into play though re-assurance was supplied by a pair of 320mm double discs, not equipped with almost de rigeur mono block sports bike oriented calipers but standard four pot Brembo units, (mustn’t grumble)! The skinny brake lines (probably Kevlar re-enforced- couldn’t find the actual spec) probably helped also

Comfortable? The wide bars and upright riding position only became uncomfortable on one part of my body and this was only at speed.
My neck muscles took a bit of a battering but only at speeds I’m not prepared to state in writing.
At average ‘hoon’ velocity it wasn’t an issue. No arse ache, no shoulder ache, no leg ache, in fact nothing but an ergonomically comfortable ride. The engineers must have far-sighted my physique and build and tailored it exactly to what I found comfortable, again uncanny - how do they do it?
I managed to cover just over 650miles in four days and it was a wrench handing the keys back.

View from the cockpit was of the open road, I had to consciously make an effort to check the information displayed on the digi dash and rev counter dial, to be honest on the open road I paid very little attention to any of it.
I don’t need this sort of information when on a mission, I’m usually too wrapped up in the ride to worry about random numbers, preferring feel and the soulful experience over harsh and unerring information that modern technology delivers these days.

Call me vain and over confident but after twenty plus years of virtually continual riding I think I can judge when I’m going too quick for the conditions I’m in without having to refer too much to the plethora of information that is available.
Riding a bike to me is about the visceral experience not about the data!

In town naturally it makes sense to behave revs and speed critical, but the bike behaved perfectly.
I do have a criticism though, the angle of the dash was such that in strong sunlight (much like the Ducati 1098 I rode a few weeks prior) rendered the information hard to see.
My personal view is that all concentration should be focussed on the way ahead, if it takes me a few extra seconds to focus on the wealth of information supplied which is even greater if I want to stab the miniscule mode switch repeatedly, I’ve taken my eye off the road.

Again call me vain, but I was conscious of the brand spanking new tyres fitted before my arrival and the light drizzle I rode away in.
Chicken strips were not an option, I had two days to scrub them in and have the confidence to hold my amateur head up high amongst the vanguard of proper paid up motorcycle journalists who had borrowed and no doubt ridden the wheels off the bike as I had tried to do.
I’m pleased (I suppose you could say smug) that the bike was returned spattered with decimated swarms of Kentish fly and a respectable non shiny surface over the radius of the rear tyre at least.
The Pirelli Diablos were adequate but for the next level, or, an impromptu track day, stickier tyres should be the order of the day. (Quite how much longevity you’d get however is another matter, but power and control and all that memorable marketing stuff, would be realised as a truism on this bike I reckon).

My wallet is empty and the planet is no doubt a few degrees warmer, it’s a thirsty big bore 1200cc motor fed by Magneti Marelli fuel injection and a relatively meagre (for any lengthy journey) tank capacity of 3.9 UK gallons which is just under 18 litres, average tank range about 110 miles for very nearly twenty English pounds.

Frankly though my dears I don’t give a damn about the mpg. The bike was a blast to ride and because I’m restricted to a word count (inevitably breached), I merely implore you to consider this bike in your next purchasing process. Don’t be put off by the relatively obscure name, it comes with a wealth of heritage a three year warranty, bristles with top kit that you’d only have to shell out for extra on a cheaper bike, and has the added kudos of exclusivity. And that absolutely perfect Termignoni aural signature….


Wanna try one? Talk to the top geezers at 3X Motorcycles Italian centre, they can supply in black, red (looks well flash) and |I believe they do a yellow, very similar to the Triumph gold sort of livery.
If you are considering a Ducati Monster (which I believe are in very short supply at present), KTM Duke, Triumph Speed Triple, Buell etc do yourself a favour, don’t buy until you’ve spread your wings on a Moto Morini Corsaro Veloce 1200


Doby Trutcenden 24.7.2008

Tuesday 22 July 2008

What a blast. Moto Morini Corsaro Veloce

This week I have mainly been bombing about on a Moto Morini Corsaro Veloce, kindly supplied by those nice people at 3X Motorcycles.



My full write up on here soon, but as a preliminary.... Fucking hell what a fantastic bike, quite exclusive, V-twin 1200cc, motor really smooth, gear change short and firm, handling absolutely spot on, predatory and purposeful styling and Termignoni silencers sans baffling allied with dedicated ecu which just made the most awesome racket you've ever heard.
Not sure abot the price tag especially as the Termi's aren't standard, but streetfighter,fast cruiser, wide barred naked stylee only from Marabese Italy, you've just got to give one a quick burn if you are ever near 3X motorcycles near Wimborne in Dorset.
Its a bit juicy but grin factor levels climb rapidly from the moment you are onboard and stay in a fixed maximum state until your jaw aches.

Its fair to say I loved every minute of the 800 miles covered. Wallet.s smoky and ruined but what the fuck, it's not often I get the chance.

Well done Morini, a far cry from the days of the 3 half, which actually was a good little number and a sought after bike these days. Wonder if Benjy Straw is still about?

Friday 4 July 2008

Ducati 1098R

Something for the weekend Sir? Ooh,Ducati 19098 Sir? Ooh suits you Sir!

Q. What has been named the international bike of 2008?
Here’s a few clues…
It has the highest torque to weight ratio in the super bike class
180bhp from a 90 degree V-twin motor
Sand cast engine cases
A frame that weighs just 9KGS
Fully adjustable Ohlins TTXR rear shock
Fully adjustable gold nitrided front Ohlins 43 mm forks with mono block radial caliper mountings
Brembo Mono block calipers gripping 330mm discs
165 kilos
52 57mm (fat) diameter exhaust system
Traction control allied with twin |Termignoni mufflers and dedicated ECU
Elliptical throttle bodies
Titanium valves which are chrome nitrided and titanium con rods.
All valves operated by a Desmodromic actuation not conventional springs.

The spec list would take up at least two pages, and in fact the official PR release almost does
It’s the most powerful twin cylinder production motorcycle yet produced.

It is of course a Ducati, but no ordinary Ducati, Its still red, got a dry clutch and looks like it was sculpted by Michaelangelo and powered by Vulcan, exercise wonderment and rapture all ye who worship at the feet of the sports bike altar, Gentlemen genuflect for the awesome new Ducati 1098. The R version.

Ducati engineers have taken the already stunning 1098S and expertly fettled it with a few extra rip snorting goodies that take your breath away when you ride one. In fact make that if you ever are lucky enough to ride one. I feel like one of the chosen few, I was lucky enough to benefit from a very good friend’s kindness the other weekend. Almost brand new, only just run in and with the Termignoni’s fitted, he rang me up and offered me the keys.

I alluded to some gentle Schadenfrude in the ZX-10R review I wrote recently and this mischievous remark was aimed at this man, because when I first called round to salivate over the blood red machine, it was away at the menders. Apparently the onboard computer had said ‘No‘, when he was preparing to go to work one morning soon after taking delivery. Ho ho thought I, the usual achingly gorgeous Italian machine let down by a ‘character’ temperament that has been the bane of most people‘s Ducati ownership at one time or another.
I feel guilty now, it was a little callous, because the second time I called round this time to liberate the bike for the weekend there was no hint of reticence from the bike.

The multi functional digital, MotoGP derived clocks, gave access to more info than I could concentrate or to be honest even want when hurtling through the leafy lanes of Kent and Sussex.
The most important thing he said was ‘if it rains you might want to dial the traction control in‘, which is accessible by a rocker switch on the left switchgear, mode selected and then he showed me how to adjust the TC, up or down.
He had it set on one, and having followed him home with the Nine gasping for more breath just to keep him in sight, I thought that this level of performance looked perfectly acceptable to me so it could stay set at one.
He did point out that because the ‘Y shaped’ Magnesium alloy Marchesini’s were shod with what can only be described as barely cut slicks. (Standard rubber for this machine were Pirelli Diablo Super Corsas, and they were smooth as well as having no visible chicken strips on them - already) it might get a bit hairy, I was convinced that I would be tiptoeing around conscious of the fact that this was a privately owned machine with a value of £24K, so valued the tip.

He just grinned and clapped me on the back. He knew me better than I know myself.
It was obvious to him that after a few miles of getting comfortable I would be riding it to close to the edge of my ability and enjoy every moment of it. That’s why he offered me the ride. A truly selfless act of generosity.
I guess if I had really thought about it logically I should have come up with the same conclusion. He’s a biker, he’s worked his bollox off for years to get himself in the position to own a bike of this ilk, I’m a biker and we’re friends that was it. There was no sign of fear or concern in his demeanour, it was genuine altruism, a very rare thing to find these days.

The sound of the bike as I thumbed the starter was truly the equivalent of a dawn barrage by a battery of big guns before the armoured assault in any war. I could I swear feel the concussions of the contained explosions through the soles of my feet as the sound echoed around the drive, bouncing of wall, hedge and garage door, the Sound of the Dry clutch spinning was almost as invasive as the exhaust note, the clutch was open, you could see the anodised red pressure plate through the vents in the carbon clutch cover and make out a smear of white which was the Ducati Corse branding.




He had to put his children to bed so he bid me good evening and waved goodbye grinning.

I was expecting a hideous crouched posture akin to a gorilla on a BMX bike but other than having to high kick over the beautifully sculpted rear end of the solo seat (finished in revealed carbon fibre, deep red and sharp white paint separated by gold pin striping) it was comfortable, my size tens shuffled to find the lissom foot controls, clutch in (change of clutch note) Stiff clutch action despite the Brembo hydraulic master cylinder and lever assembly, - I was off.

The Clutch was pretty much in or out with little room for slipping the clutch that you might do on a four cylinder bike, the sledgehammer thudding of the engine pushed me into the evening, The Sussex Downs starting to take on the first glow of evening light,.
The sound bounced off the walls of the small village, I grinned to myself as I blipped rather more than necessary, (It just had to be done). A few miles further down the line slowly getting the motor up to temperature and allowing time for heat to permeate the tyres and I was into late commuter traffic.
I figured that I should get the feel of the bike on a straight wide road before I started thinking about pushing. I had a meeting with the local MCC when I got home but I had an hour and a half to get there, usual journey time was only 45 minutes so, easy does it and then the long way home via my favourite stretch of road about twenty miles away.

Suffice to say I got a few looks as I surged smoothly (but if its not an anathema) - lumpily, through the traffic glorifying in the sheer bubble of noise, the assault and battery, the forge of Vulcan!

It was noticeably narrow especially at the rear of the fuel tank, at first it felt a bit odd not having to splay ones legs so much, but it was immediately comfortable and there was plenty of grip still afforded to the knees when called into play. The reach to the foot controls and clip ons were very good, my wrists ached a little at first but I think that was because they were used to a different bike, they just needed to adjust, it wasn’t painful, just different.

One thing that I did notice which seemed odd at first was whilst braking normally (increasing gentle pressure), the brake lever seemed to oscillate slightly under my grip, it took me a a few minutes to suss it, it was a new bike, the discs wouldn’t be warped.
It was the vibration of the engine causing my grip to shake ever so slightly as I decelerated and trailed a little too much throttle, it may be a big twin with a shit load of torque, but trying to pull away or increase speed in a high gear after reasonably rapid decceleration did induce a judder. (Don’t get me wrong I know when to change gear and when not, but the sheer brutishness off the power delivery almost negated the torque on offer which I tried to ride, it was smoother just knocking down a gear rather than using the torque - I guess it’s just technique, the best I could admit to in V-twin ownership was a TLR Suzuki, which is a far cry from the Duke.

The next morning I had arranged to thrapp out to Dymchurch in Kent to Visit a friend and to show him the bike. I actually got up at 8am on a Saturday, (very important day). I wondered if my close mate with a KTM950 Supermotard fancied a ride. He answered The phone promptly and was well up for it, having heard that I had a very special bike. (His was no slouch, and was equipped with light weight wheels and Akrapovic mufflers, and in an ideal world, thus far this was exactly the bike I wanted).
A chap called Alan was coming along on his bright orange 2007 Kawasaki Z1000.

We were going to stop at a café just outside Brenzett in order for Steve to munch some pig, egg and beans, the Rye Road was clogged, so we effectively had to just growl along, I could tell the Duke was just bursting to stretch its legs, the whole vibe of the bike is of power and perrformance, it hammered through the clogged roads until Steve took advantage of a half mile stretch of straight road, His Ktm took off and with a deft look over my shoulder, The mirrors are perfectly fitting to the overall aerodynamics of the front end, but only the outside sliver of mirror edge reflected anything worth seeing, the rest was blocked by my leather arm. Its forgivable, this is primarily a race bike, so a quick glance should be expected and de rigueur any way. I just built the revs momentarily in fifth and twisted the throttle, Steve came and went in a moment of thunderous acceleration and increased noise like I imagine an air bomb exploding and I was braking for Pill box corner.
I braked to early, the front Brake set up efficiently reined in the sudden momentum’
I trailed the throttle to the corner and then applied a sniff of drive to push me through, the bike returning to its steady beat.

The Marsh road to Brenzett is a twisty number and Steve pushed the KTM round them no doubt with a big grin on his face, (he travels this route to work every day). I’m not sure where Alan on the Zed was, Steve wasn’t slowing so naturally I shadowed him, eventually relaxing into the straight that brought us to the main Folkestone Road. Alan soon caught up so onto the café just down the road, for brekkie a fag, bike banter and machine appreciation.



Steve helped me shoot a bit of video and then I was off to Dymchurch whilst him and Alan headed for Ashford.. There’s a few small villages on the way and the Duke caused several shoulders to turn , backward glances and an absolute classic gawp from some nipper holding his dad’s hand. By this time I had covered about 120 miles (a tank of juice), the only discomfort that immediately occurred to me was the back of the knees (which we all know there is no proper name for) which were getting hot, bathing in the halo of heat produced by the Duke’s steady trickling through the streets, shaking windows and attracting attention. I felt like a million dollars.

I did my best to wilt Tim’s new hanging baskets with the fiery stench and temperature of the Termi’s, but he came out the door before I could manoeuvre the bike into the optimum parking spot. This Duke even feels safe on the side stand, other Dukes I’ve ridden in the past have had decidedly dodgy numbers on board.

A usual hearty welcome from Tim, weeding out the acerbic bits for the wit and charm that is his nature. He was in good spirits and going Kayaking later so I glugged a cup of tea and turned round to go home, looking forward to the ride home. A fresh tank of gas and back into it, the Duke was very taut at low speed, you could feel most of the surface that passed under it, but it didn’t matter, this is an exotic race derived focussed motorcycle from Italy.

I couldn’t really see the dash clearly, the default view set was a sectored square of slim digital readouts, speed was the most important, just a few nths extra here and there on the throttle resulted in the 1098 clearing its throat expecting more fuel to burn, there was a lot of traffic about.

I finally blip frightened some woefully dawdling drivers out of the way and headed back to Rye through the twisties that Steve had expertly negotiated on the way out, you/ve really got to keep the Duke revving to an extent and then blip it down a gear to push it through a corner, I unconsciously traiked round a couple and the bike felt like it was running wide and about to fall over, must remember to keep the power constant for optimum effect, different technique to a Jap multi!

The Corsas gripped faultlessly. It was a lovely hot day and I had neither the ability or enough open road to test them (alas), didn’t notice wrist ache any more, knees were getting hotter though, exacerbated by a sprawling stream of scooters teeming out of Camber and heading for Hastings.

There were hundreds and hundreds of them. Now I was on a bike that could smear them all instantly but they were on two wheels and thoroughly enjoying their wheels in the same way as I was, so I tried to nip past pockets of them as quickly and carefully as possible. A few of them may have had their eyebrows blasted off the ir face by the murderous barrage of sound they may have suddenly encounterd, the rest of there was a lot of raised ones and quite a few almost jumped (it was not intentional) as I blipped down a gear behind them, a few of them wobbled at my sudden appearance, but they kept station and the sheer amount of them was good to see, there were a lot of restored classics amongst them and quite aptly the majority of them were of Italian birth.


I didn’t have a chance to really test the slipper clutch, but The owner reckons you can bang it down two or three gears under rapid deccelleration and the bike doesn’t skip or throw a fit, I know this is what they are built for but I was happy with my ride I had witnessed the hype, carefully examined the components, the swing arm………………………….. The fat diameter thin wallled frame tubes, the huge hollow spindles supporting the Marchesini’s, the quality of carbon fibre on offer, the neat little Italian tricolour between the narrow of the eyes of the headlights, the Swedishly efficient and purposeful Ohlins equipment.
Oh to be a track day God with one of these to use.
It’s a lot of money, it’s almost three standard ZX-10R’s, but there is a certain je no sais quoi about owning a bike like this especially a Ducati, you know it’s only really value for money when you pore over the bike without realising it, you find yourself unconsciously running a tentative hand along its lines, when you bask in the thunder burst of its voice and velocity, its thunder burst of sheer power, when realise this is the basis of World Superbikes you see the like of Bayliss Riding, it’s very special, rare to see but hard to miss when you do. It is a supermodel amongst the common folk of the ordinary mainstream.




The last real shock and awe tactic was just prior to a nights drinking with another buddy who isn’t into bikes, but appreciates a piece of machinery when he sees it, he‘s more of an F1 fan. I unpadlocked it from the garage and wheeled it out and started her up, Gavin’s face was one of surprise not really believing that a motorcycle could be worth so much and the power it had, he took a video clip of the bike ticking over and as he came in closer to the rear end I blipped the throttle (it’s addictive behaviour with this bike). Over a sherbet later he replayed the clip, it sounded like the phone had exploded.

Thanx Nick this ones filed in the top drawer of motorcycling memories. Sorry about the large amount of dead fly meat over it.

This is the shortened version of the road test, I’m sure you’ve read more edifying accounts about the more technical ability of the bike from those more able and with more time, but once again you can read the spec on the right when placed on the www.ukbike site and visit you tube etc, video should be done shortly. Hope you enjoy(ed) the ride

Doby Trutcenden 4.7.08

Thursday 3 July 2008

The Latest on Motorcycle training

Just read an article by Tim Luckhurst writing for The Guardian about the chaos and rubbish implementation of a European directive for the implementation of a new Motorcycle test scenario.

I could summarise but Tim's article says it all.

There are a number of uppity comments by righteous car drivers saying, that us two wheeled 'do as you likers' are a menace, so, if you'd like to redress the balance somewhat with any cogent, logical and sensible statements, leave him a comment.
(I don't know the bloke and I've not read anything by him before, but what he points out is obvious to me and I for one don't want to see the start of a process that appears to be the beginning of an erosion of motorcycling).
I once again quote Robin Trower .. 'Where are the roads to freedom?'

Here's the comment I left for what it's worth.

Like Tim, I ride a motorcycle most days, and I have to say it is a most puissant one at that.
On an average round trip of 100 miles on my daily commute, I see the same cars with single occupants (generally) sitting in the same traffic jam, sweating and white knuckled hunched over the steering wheel.
I constantly wonder as I sail past watching them watching me why the bloody hell do they still do it.?

The only conclusion I can come to is that they are scared to leave the assumed cossetted confines of their cars, choosing to waste time and energy by remaining stationary for long periods.

On the occasional stretches of open road I then generally encounter rubbish driving, outside lane hogging and similar 4 wheeled stupidity.

The answer (in my opinion) make car tests harder, encourage more people (by offering easier and better training) onto motorcycles.

Motorcycles are quicker, more fun, generally cheaper, keep your reactions sharp and easier to park. There are several niches, you don't have to buy into sports bike hooligan scene you can buy big cc scooters, commuter machines or grand tourers.

Sure some bikers tear around like their arse is on fire, but the amount of 'Foo boys' in souped up almost certainly highly illegal crap cars adorned with all manner of stupid frippery popping exhausts and terrible pop polution is just as rife. When was the last time you saw one of these Herberts sticking to the legal speed limit?

P.s I'm a middle aged git, with a few busted bones in the past to other road users credit, a car owner and can't get enough of fast motorcycles, the more car drivers encouraged to be biker friendly the better and probably the lower the accident rate.

Tims article can be found here http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/02/motoring.travelandtransport?commentpage=1&commentposted=1
 

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